The oldest member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Rockwall), brought his campaign for reelection to the Enon Community Center on Tuesday afternoon, declaring that “I don’t want to give this President any more money to buy votes with.”

Hall, who is 90 and the oldest member in history of the U.S. House of Representatives, took the jab at President Obama at a reception attended by about 20 persons. The Congressman, who represents part of Upshur County, faces John Ratcliffe, who recently campaigned in the Gilmer area, in the May 27 Republican runoff.

At Enon, Hall said his main concern is that “we don’t want to spend money we don’t have.” He said he voted twice against raising the national debt ceiling, indicating he did so because the legislation took $500 billion from the military.

Hall said he was told “something terrible was going to happen to the country” if that didn’t pass, but that all those things happened when it did pass.

“I don’t want to spend more than we can make,” he added.

As for the President, the Congressman said he had received an award “for being in the top three percent fighting Obama.”

On another topic, Hall said “I’ve been trying to drill on ANWAR” in Alaska. “They say don’t drill on little ANWAR,” but the supposedly little area is actually 19 million acres, and drilling is needed on only 2,000, Hall said.

The Congressman also addressed the situation in the nation’s capital, saying “Things are tough in Washington right now. (But) We’re (Congress) not getting along as bad as the liberal press says we are.”

Without mentioning him by name, Hall said Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner is a “pretty good guy” who helped him on the House Energy and Commerce Committee although Hall didn’t vote for him for speaker.

The Congressman also said U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) “let us down” when he was the GOP Presidential nominee against Mr. Obama in 2008 because McCain thought “he had it made.”

On another matter, Hall, who has served in the House for about 34 years, also addressed the issue of his age, saying “The Dallas (Morning) News thinks I’m too old, but they used to say I was too young.”

He noted that his wife had died five and a half years ago, and joked that he had enough canned goods to last him until May 26, “and (on) the 27th (election day), I really need some help.”

Former Upshur County Assistant District Attorney David Bridges, now a justice on the Texas 5th Court of Appeals, introduced Hall. Among those attending the eve nt were Upshur County Judge Dean Fowler, Sheriff Anthony Betterton, Pct. 2 County Comm. Cole Hefner, and Pct. 2 Comm.-Elect Don Gross.